Lisbon Park and Ride: Car Parks and Metro Tickets

By The Travel Fieldbook October 3, 2026 October 7, 2026

Jardim Zoológico metro station, on the Blue Line in Lisbon. (Andrzej Otrębski · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited)

If Lisbon is a stop on your Portuguese road trip, choose the car park for the journey you want after leaving the car. Oriente gives you a short station approach but a Metro change, while Espaço 7Rios offers a direct line after a substantial walk. Praça da Figueira lets you reach Praça do Comércio entirely on foot.

These are ordinary paid car parks, with transport paid separately. Free or discounted pass-linked schemes have different eligibility rules, so a visitor’s Metro ticket does not automatically bring a parking benefit.

Where to leave the car

Criterion	Oriente underground	Espaço 7Rios	Praça da Figueira
Side of Lisbon	North-east	North-west	Centre
Onward journey	Walk; Red and Blue Metro	Walk; Blue Metro	Walking
Travel to Praça do Comércio	about 35 minutes: station walk, two Metro legs, final walk	about three quarters of an hour: station walk, Blue line, final walk	about 650 metres; about 9 minutes on foot
Overnight parking	€11.50 daily ceiling; prices may vary with occupancy and time	—	€12.50 for 08:00–08:00 the following day

All three accept casual visitors and allow vehicle entry and retrieval around the clock. Oriente’s standard public tariff needs no rail ticket or pass, and Espaço 7Rios needs no purchase from another business. Espaço 7Rios is outside Lisbon’s controlled-access neighbourhoods.

Choose Oriente for its short station approach, or Espaço 7Rios only if the longer walk suits your group. The Metro totals cover the walking and train legs: allow additional time to buy tickets, wait and change platforms. Both outward and return transfers use part of your parking stay.

At Praça da Figueira, a six-hour stay wholly within the daytime band costs €4. At night, 20:00–08:00, the first hour costs €0.50, the second €0.40 and subsequent hours €0.40 each. The overnight calculation above combines the full daytime and night-time bands. The €220 “24 Horas” product is a monthly subscription, not a one-day price.

Praça da Figueira suits a visit centred on Baixa and the riverfront square: continue south through the central shopping streets without buying Metro tickets. For a broader choice in this part of Lisbon, explore central car parks and street parking beyond this garage.

Name: Praça da Figueira car park
Location: Praça da Figueira, Baixa, Lisbon Maps
Essential fact: The central garage beneath Praça da Figueira, beside Rossio in Lisbon.
Price: €0.90/hour first hour, 08:00–20:00; €0.70/hour second hour, 08:00–20:00; €0.60/hour each following hour, 08:00–20:00; Show 2 more
€0.50/hour first hour, 20:00–08:00€0.40/hour second and following hours, 20:00–08:00

Entrance to the Bragaparques car park at Praça da Figueira in Lisbon. — The Bragaparques car park at Praça da Figueira, in central Lisbon.
*Kristin Wolff · CC BY 2.0 · Edited*

Metro tickets and the journey back

Oriente route: Red to São Sebastião; Blue towards Santa Apolónia to Terreiro do Paço
Espaço 7Rios route: Jardim Zoológico: Blue towards Santa Apolónia to Terreiro do Paço
Single-fare alternatives: Zapping €1.72; contactless bank card €1.92; Carris/Metro ticket €1.90
Carris/Metro single validity: 60 minutes; no consecutive Metro journeys
Carris/Metro day ticket: €7.25; unlimited Carris and Metro; 24 hours from first validation
Navegante occasional card: €0.50; reloadable for one year
Blue weekday average interval: 10:00–16:45: 6 min 40 sec; 22:30–01:05: 9 min 20 sec
Blue weekend/public holiday average interval: 12:00–20:15: 7 min 20 sec; 22:30–01:05: 9 min 20 sec
Red weekday average interval: 09:45–16:30: 7 min 5 sec; 22:30–01:05: 9 min 45 sec
Red weekend/public holiday average interval: 12:00–20:15: 7 min; 22:15–01:05: 9 min 45 sec

For an adult’s outward and return Metro journeys alone, single fares cost less than the day ticket. Choose the latter when further Carris bus or tram journeys and Metro rides make unlimited travel useful. Parking remains a separate payment.

Buy the Navegante occasional card at a Metro ticket machine or ticket office, then load single tickets, a day ticket or Zapping credit. Keep the purchase and loading receipt. Each traveller needs their own card: tap it at both entrance and exit, waiting for the green light and gates to open. A contactless bank card lets you pay directly at the Metro gate instead.

Children aged 3 and under travel free with an adult holding a valid ticket. Free travel from age 4 through 23 requires a personalised Navegante card with the applicable youth-free profile, and the occasional visitor card is not that product.

From Terreiro do Paço, return on the Blue line towards Reboleira. Stay aboard for Jardim Zoológico if you parked at Espaço 7Rios. For Oriente, leave at São Sebastião and change to the Red line towards Aeroporto.

Interior of Oriente metro station in Lisbon. — Oriente station on the Lisbon Metro.
*DiogoBaptista · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Edited*

Oriente underground car park

Gare do Oriente underground car park keeps the approach to Oriente Metro short, useful if you want to avoid a long walk before boarding. The station approach is about 250 metres, about 4 minutes on foot. Take the Red line to São Sebastião, about 16 minutes, then change to the Blue line for Terreiro do Paço, about 12 minutes. From there, the final walk to Praça do Comércio is about 300 metres, about 4 minutes.

Oriente has lifts to the Red-line platforms, and São Sebastião has a step-free Red–Blue interchange. With luggage or children, the change still means leaving one train, moving between platforms and boarding another.

Returning from Praça do Comércio, walk to Terreiro do Paço, about 300 metres and about 4 minutes. The Blue-line leg to São Sebastião takes about 11 minutes, followed by about 17 minutes on the Red line to Oriente. The final approach to the garage is about 250 metres, about 3 minutes. Together these walks and Metro legs take about 35 minutes, but allow extra time for waiting and the interchange.

CP’s preferential parking starts at €4.85 for up to 24 hours, but requires valid outward and return Alfa Pendular or Intercidades tickets. Present those tickets with your parking ticket at manual checkout on return. A Metro-only sightseeing visit uses ordinary public parking instead.

Name: Gare do Oriente underground car park
Location: Beneath Gare do Oriente, Parque das Nações, Lisbon Maps
Essential fact: The car park beneath Oriente station in Parque das Nações, north-eastern Lisbon.

Espaço 7Rios and the Blue line

Espaço 7Rios trades Oriente’s interchange for a longer approach to the train. From this car park at Rua de Campolide 351, Jardim Zoológico Metro is about 2 km away, about 30 minutes on foot. Choose it only if that substantial walk suits everyone travelling, including the walk back after sightseeing. Rolling luggage, young children or difficulty walking make the central garage a more straightforward choice.

At Jardim Zoológico, board the Blue line for Terreiro do Paço without changing trains. Use the Metro entrance, rather than heading for the separate Sete Rios railway or coach facilities. The onward train ride takes about 15 minutes.

Returning from Praça do Comércio, walk to Terreiro do Paço, about 300 metres and about 4 minutes, then take the Blue line to Jardim Zoológico, about 14 minutes. The walk back to Espaço 7Rios is about 2 km, about 28 minutes. Together the walks and train ride take about three quarters of an hour, but allow additional time for waiting.

Jardim Zoológico has lift access between street and platforms. Terreiro do Paço has lifts between platforms, concourse and street. Those station facilities help with the train journey, but the long outdoor approach still matters when choosing parking for limited mobility.

Name: Espaço 7Rios car park
Location: Rua de Campolide 351, Lisbon Maps
Essential fact: The public car park at Espaço 7Rios on Rua de Campolide, near Jardim Zoológico Metro in Lisbon.

Pontinha Sul and monthly parking schemes

Pontinha Sul’s free parking requires a valid Navegante pass, not simply a Navegante occasional card loaded with visitor tickets. The shared brand name does not make the products interchangeable: the occasional card carries your fares, while this parking benefit is tied to a valid pass.

Before using Pontinha Sul’s scheme, register your card and valid pass at the car park’s service point. Entry remains subject to spaces being available. If you already qualify, this can be a useful benefit, but buying an occasional Metro ticket does not give you unrestricted free parking there.

CP’s Sintra-line Park & Ride at Portela de Sintra and Queluz-Belas is also pass-linked. It requires a valid monthly CP or Navegante pass plus a €12 parking supplement. The product is sold one month at a time for use in the following month, rather than as a casual sightseeing-day add-on.

For a short road-trip stop, keep these schemes separate from the public garages compared above. They serve travellers with qualifying passes and the required registration or purchase arrangements, rather than providing the same walk-up choice as ordinary paid parking.

Overnight parking and Alfama access

For an Alfama overnight stay, leaving the car in your chosen garage avoids taking it into the controlled historic hillside between the cathedral, Santa Luzia, São Vicente and the riverfront. Keep Lisbon’s low-emission driving rules separate from neighbourhood access: your car’s emissions eligibility and permission to enter Alfama are different questions.

The EMEL Visitor Card costs €25 and is sold without appointment at EMEL sales locations daily, 08:00–00:00. It includes 30 minutes of parking, but subsequent charges make it a poor substitute for overnight garage parking.

One-hour parking tariff: €15
Two-hour parking tariff: €30
Each subsequent hour: €30

For a hire-car infringement, the registered keeper is notified if the driver is unidentified. A company-owned vehicle’s keeper must identify the driver within 15 working days, and identifying you can lead to a new proceeding in your name.

An accessible garage does not guarantee a late Metro journey back to it. Arrange your return around the train journey, especially Oriente’s connection, rather than treating round-the-clock vehicle retrieval as round-the-clock transport.

Is bringing the car worth it?

Parking beside the Metro rather than at Praça da Figueira

Pros

Useful when Lisbon is one stop on a wider road trip: leave the car on your arrival side of the city.
Oriente offers a short station approach; Espaço 7Rios offers a direct Blue-line ride.
Keeps the drive out of the central streets used for sightseeing.

Cons

Parking and transport are separate payments, with fares for each paying traveller.
Oriente adds an interchange; Espaço 7Rios adds a substantial station walk, particularly awkward with luggage or children.
The evening return depends on Metro services, unlike walking back to the central garage.

For central sightseeing alone, a car adds little once you have arrived. Praça da Figueira lets you continue on foot and return without a train connection: from Praça do Comércio, the walk back is about 650 metres, about 9 minutes.

With limited mobility, choose for the whole journey, not just station lifts. For an overnight stay, count the car’s full parked period separately from the sightseeing outing: returning to your accommodation does not end the garage charge.

Sources & fact-checking

Checks against the sources below cover: fares and charges, services, opening hours, and key figures.